Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Texas plaintiffs and married couple Vic Holmes, U.S. Air Force Major retired, and Mark Phariss hold hands during an interview at a celebration event with the plaintiffs and legal teams before oral arguments are heard in gay marriage cases for Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans Friday. The event was hosted by Freedom to Marry, Lambda Legal, Campaign for Southern Equality, Equality Texas, and the Forum for Equality Louisiana. Photo taken in New Orleans, La. Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Jonathan Saenz, a conservative Catholic attorney and president of Texas Values, an anti-abortion, anti-LGBT group speaks to the media after pro-gay rights legal teams made oral arguments in gay marriage cases for Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana at the U.S. Court of Appeals Building for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans in New Orleans, La. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Vic Holmes, U.S. Air Force Major retired, touches his husband Mark Phariss after he spoke at a press conference after their legal teams made oral arguments in gay marriage cases for Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana at the U.S. Court of Appeals Building for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, background, in New Orleans, La. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--John Denison, the Chair of the Louisiana Forum for Equality, unfurls a flag for a press conference after legal teams made oral arguments in gay marriage cases for Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana at the U.S. Court of Appeals Building for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, background, in New Orleans, La. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Texas plaintiffs Nicole Dimetman, left, and her wife Cleopatra DeLeon, a U.S. Air Force and Texas Air National Guard veteran, hold hands with Vic Holmes, U.S. Air Force Major retired, and his husband Mark Phariss after their legal teams made oral arguments in gay marriage cases for Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana at the U.S. Court of Appeals Building for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, background, in New Orleans, La. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Louisiana plaintiffs Derek Penton-Robicheaux, center with sign, and Jon Penton-Robicheaux, center background, stand with another Louisiana plaintiff Sergio March-Prieto, far left, and Texas plaintiffs Nicole Dimetman, second left, and her wife Cleopatra DeLeon, a U.S. Air Force and Texas Air National Guard veteran, hold signs before a press conference after their legal teams made oral arguments in gay marriage cases for Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana at the U.S. Court of Appeals Building for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, background, in New Orleans, La. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Louisiana plaintiffs Derek Penton-Robicheaux, left, and Jon Penton-Robicheaux, wave as they leave court after their legal teams made oral arguments in gay marriage cases for Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana at the U.S. Court of Appeals Building for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, background, in New Orleans, La. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Louisiana plaintiff Sergio March-Prieto, right, kisses his husband L. Havard Scott, III, next to another Louisiana plaintiff couple, Courtney, second right, and Nadine Blanchard, far right, after their legal teams made oral arguments in gay marriage cases for Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana at the U.S. Court of Appeals Building for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, background, in New Orleans, La. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

FILE- In this June 26, 2013 file photo, gay rights advocate Vin Testa waves a rainbow flag in front of the Supreme Court in Washington. The Supreme Court has quietly engineered a dramatic increase in the number of states that allow gay and lesbian couples to wed _ at the same time raising the likelihood the justices soon will definitively settle the legal debate. Some justices had expressed reluctance about directly confronting the issue when more than half the country prohibited same-sex unions, but 36 states now allow them, nearly twice as many as three months ago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Louisiana plaintiffs Courtney and Nadine Blanchard hold their son Cade, 2, at celebration event with the plaintiffs and legal teams before oral arguments are heard in gay marriage cases for Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans Friday. The event was hosted by Freedom to Marry, Lambda Legal, Campaign for Southern Equality, Equality Texas, and the Forum for Equality Louisiana. Photo taken in New Orleans, La. Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Mississippi plaintiffs Carla Webb kisses her wife Jocelyn Pritchett next to Rebecca Bickett, center, and her partner, Andrea Sanders, left, as Louisiana attorney Dalton Courson, far left, applauds during a press conference celebration event with the plaintiffs and legal teams before oral arguments are heard in gay marriage cases for Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans Friday. The event was hosted by Freedom to Marry, Lambda Legal, Campaign for Southern Equality, Equality Texas, and the Forum for Equality Louisiana. Photo taken in New Orleans, La. Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015.

Federal court hearing gives hope to foes of La. ban on gay marriages

Court hears gay marriage case

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Texas plaintiffs and married couple Vic Holmes, U.S. Air Force Major retired, and Mark Phariss hold hands during an interview at a celebration event with the plaintiffs and legal teams before oral arguments are heard in gay marriage cases for Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans Friday. The event was hosted by Freedom to Marry, Lambda Legal, Campaign for Southern Equality, Equality Texas, and the Forum for Equality Louisiana. Photo taken in New Orleans, La. Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Jonathan Saenz, a conservative Catholic attorney and president of Texas Values, an anti-abortion, anti-LGBT group speaks to the media after pro-gay rights legal teams made oral arguments in gay marriage cases for Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana at the U.S. Court of Appeals Building for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans in New Orleans, La. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Vic Holmes, U.S. Air Force Major retired, touches his husband Mark Phariss after he spoke at a press conference after their legal teams made oral arguments in gay marriage cases for Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana at the U.S. Court of Appeals Building for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, background, in New Orleans, La. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--John Denison, the Chair of the Louisiana Forum for Equality, unfurls a flag for a press conference after legal teams made oral arguments in gay marriage cases for Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana at the U.S. Court of Appeals Building for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, background, in New Orleans, La. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Texas plaintiffs Nicole Dimetman, left, and her wife Cleopatra DeLeon, a U.S. Air Force and Texas Air National Guard veteran, hold hands with Vic Holmes, U.S. Air Force Major retired, and his husband Mark Phariss after their legal teams made oral arguments in gay marriage cases for Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana at the U.S. Court of Appeals Building for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, background, in New Orleans, La. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Louisiana plaintiffs Derek Penton-Robicheaux, center with sign, and Jon Penton-Robicheaux, center background, stand with another Louisiana plaintiff Sergio March-Prieto, far left, and Texas plaintiffs Nicole Dimetman, second left, and her wife Cleopatra DeLeon, a U.S. Air Force and Texas Air National Guard veteran, hold signs before a press conference after their legal teams made oral arguments in gay marriage cases for Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana at the U.S. Court of Appeals Building for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, background, in New Orleans, La. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Louisiana plaintiffs Derek Penton-Robicheaux, left, and Jon Penton-Robicheaux, wave as they leave court after their legal teams made oral arguments in gay marriage cases for Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana at the U.S. Court of Appeals Building for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, background, in New Orleans, La. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Louisiana plaintiff Sergio March-Prieto, right, kisses his husband L. Havard Scott, III, next to another Louisiana plaintiff couple, Courtney, second right, and Nadine Blanchard, far right, after their legal teams made oral arguments in gay marriage cases for Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana at the U.S. Court of Appeals Building for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, background, in New Orleans, La. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

FILE- In this June 26, 2013 file photo, gay rights advocate Vin Testa waves a rainbow flag in front of the Supreme Court in Washington. The Supreme Court has quietly engineered a dramatic increase in the number of states that allow gay and lesbian couples to wed _ at the same time raising the likelihood the justices soon will definitively settle the legal debate. Some justices had expressed reluctance about directly confronting the issue when more than half the country prohibited same-sex unions, but 36 states now allow them, nearly twice as many as three months ago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Louisiana plaintiffs Courtney and Nadine Blanchard hold their son Cade, 2, at celebration event with the plaintiffs and legal teams before oral arguments are heard in gay marriage cases for Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans Friday. The event was hosted by Freedom to Marry, Lambda Legal, Campaign for Southern Equality, Equality Texas, and the Forum for Equality Louisiana. Photo taken in New Orleans, La. Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015.

Advocate staff photo by MATTHEW HINTON--Mississippi plaintiffs Carla Webb kisses her wife Jocelyn Pritchett next to Rebecca Bickett, center, and her partner, Andrea Sanders, left, as Louisiana attorney Dalton Courson, far left, applauds during a press conference celebration event with the plaintiffs and legal teams before oral arguments are heard in gay marriage cases for Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans Friday. The event was hosted by Freedom to Marry, Lambda Legal, Campaign for Southern Equality, Equality Texas, and the Forum for Equality Louisiana. Photo taken in New Orleans, La. Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015.

Judge Patrick Higginbotham let the state’s lawyer get all of two sentences into his defense of Louisiana’s ban on same-sex marriage Friday before he cut in with a question.

“Let’s suppose that I’m a 22-year-old male sentenced to life without parole in a prison system that doesn’t allow conjugal visits,” Higginbotham said. “Do I have a constitutional right to marry?”

His point was clear enough: If Louisiana can justify restricting marriage to traditional couples because of their role in bearing children, then why allow a prisoner to wed, even if he has no prospects of raising a family?

And Higginbotham is viewed as the closest thing that panel has to a swing vote. So the skeptical questioning he aimed at the state Friday offered a tantalizing — if inconclusive — window into his thinking. It left gay rights activists with a ray of hope that one of the most conservative federal appeals courts in the nation might actually side with them.

“You can never be sure, but at least based on the Louisiana argument, I think we’ve got a good shot at getting Higginbotham to agree that the ban is unconstitutional,” said Kenneth Upton, a lawyer with the gay rights group Lambda Legal. “I’m not as skeptical about the 5th Circuit as I was a few weeks ago.”

Still, while two votes would be enough to strike down Louisiana’s ban, court watchers could only speculate on Friday. There is no telling when the appeals court might actually issue a ruling, and skeptical questions do not always point reliably toward a final opinion.

For his part, Kyle Duncan, the state’s lawyer, sounded as upbeat as ever after Friday’s hearing.

“I thought it went great,” he said. “The judges were really engaged, asked a lot of hard questions. That’s the best you can ask for. I have no idea how it will come out.”

Also, it may not ultimately matter what the 5th Circuit decides. Friday’s hearings came just as the U.S. Supreme Court met to begin considering whether it would finally take up the issue. The justices did not make a decision Friday, but they could still take up one or more cases in time to render an opinion this year.

Amid a wave of similar lawsuits, federal appeals courts have already offered conflicting decisions on whether banning same-sex marriage runs afoul of the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law, or the due process clause. So the Supreme Court is widely seen as likely to step in and resolve the split.

In conference on Friday, the justices were scheduled to consider taking up a ruling from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, which upheld bans in four states.

They were also set to consider a request from both sides of Louisiana’s lawsuit, who want the Supreme Court to take up their case with the 6th Circuit decision even before the 5th Circuit in New Orleans has a chance to rule.

Even so, no one on either side of the issue in Louisiana is taking their eyes off the case as it stands now. Spectators packed the courtroom in New Orleans, spilling into overflow rooms where the court piped in audio of the proceedings.

Camilla Taylor, a Lambda Legal attorney, argued on behalf of the Forum for Equality Louisiana and a group of gay and lesbian couples, attacking the idea that questions about same-sex marriage should be left to voters instead of the courts.

“States cannot use the democratic process to write inequality into the law or to deprive individuals of the liberty and autonomy guaranteed by the due process clause,” Taylor said.

She also echoed Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose 2013 majority opinion in United States v. Windsor served as the catalyst for the dozens of lawsuits on gay marriage now making their way through the courts.

Taking up Kennedy’s point about the children of same-sex couples, Taylor said, “These children are told that there is something wrong with them and their families.”

When Duncan’s turn came, he barely made it off the block before facing questions from Higginbotham.

To the judge’s point about male prisoners, Duncan replied that a prisoner’s right to a traditional marriage would still be more “deeply rooted in the nation’s history” than the relatively novel idea of same-sex marriage.

Higginbotham, 76, persisted. “Why would marriage be extended to people who are sterile, etc., or people who are aged, such as I am?” he asked.

Judge James Graves, an appointee of President Barack Obama, at times seemed disdainful of the state’s case, particularly the idea that states should be left to legislate on gay marriage because of possible unintended consequences.

“Since we don’t know, we should fear the unknown and we should ban it?” Graves asked.

Judge Jerry Smith — like Higginbotham, a Ronald Reagan appointee — gave Duncan the most receptive hearing. Smith seemed more open than the other judges to the idea that Louisiana’s ban has at least a “rational” purpose in mind, even if it is not perfectly tailored to ensure that no couple without biological children can possibly wed.

He referred to case law that suggested a law can pass constitutional muster even if it represents an “imperfect fit between means and ends.”